Neurolaw

As the combination of neuroscience and law—or “neurolaw” as some call it—has been gaining traction in courtrooms in recent years, Professor Owen Jones and his colleagues have used the burgeoning field to ask deeper questions about the criminal justice system itself. Read More

A student from the nation’s first joint law and neuroscience J.D. and Ph.D. program, housed at Vanderbilt University, has earned a $50,000 graduate research fellowship from the National Institute of Justice. Read More

Intent to commit a crime is a crucial factor in determining prison sentences. A new neuro study suggests it is possible to measure subtle variations in intent while a crime is being committed. Read More

New work by researchers at Vanderbilt University and Harvard University confirms that a specific area of the brain, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, is crucial to punishment decisions. Read More

The new book 'Law and Neuroscience' is the definitive reference book on the use of neuroscientific evidence in courtrooms. Read More

Research conducted at Vanderbilt is featured in "Brains on Trial with Alan Alda," a two-part televised series airing Sept. 11 and Sept. 18 on PBS that explores how the growing ability to separate truth from lies may radically affect the way criminal trials are conducted in the future. Read More

Neuroscientists from Vanderbilt and Harvard have proposed the first neurobiological model for third-party punishment, outlining potential cognitive and brain processes that evolutionary pressures could have re-purposed to make this behavior possible. Read More